Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's envoy and son-in-law, defended the lack of progress in talks on the next steps in the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, saying it "has been a miserable place for a long time."
Speaking at a press conference in Ukraine, Kushner defended his work with Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, saying that the militarization of Hamas in the Palestinian territories “was beyond our comprehension, so disarming it will not be easy.”
Kushner continued: “But we are very determined, and we are working to resolve these matters.”
He added: “We are working to resolve some political issues in Israel. I think we agree with them on the final status. “They just have hectic elections, and that makes them a little bit irrational in certain aspects.”
In addition, Palestinian health officials said that an Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip killed a man and his young daughter yesterday, Sunday.
Muhammad Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital in the Strip, said that the Israeli air strike targeted a vehicle in western Gaza City, killing two people, Youssef Akila and his daughter Wafa (8 years old), and wounding six.
An Israeli army spokesman said that the forces targeted a Hamas militant. He added that the army is still examining the results of the attack.
A ceasefire supported by the United States in October 2025 led to the cessation of major combat operations in the Gaza Strip, but it did not stop the strikes launched by the Israeli army, which it said were aimed at thwarting attacks by Hamas and other armed groups in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas accuses Israel of violating the ceasefire and undermining efforts to implement the US President's broader plan to end the war, which also includes Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the disarmament of Hamas.
Health officials reported that more than 1,300 Palestinians, most of them civilians, had been killed in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire came into effect in October. The Israeli army says that four of its soldiers were killed in the same period.
Hamas does not usually reveal information about human casualties among its fighters.
A Palestinian was killed and two others were injured during an attack by Israeli settlers on Sunday night, Monday, on the village of Hajjah in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.
The Ministry announced “the martyrdom of the young man, Omar Muhammad Tubasi (20 years old), by settlers’ bullets in the village of Hajjah, Qalqilya district,” in the northern occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that its crews dealt with three casualties “during the settlers’ attack” on the village of Hajjah.
She explained that one of the injuries to the head, another to the chest, and an injury to the thigh were to a 17-year-old boy. They were taken to a hospital in the city of Qalqilya, describing the injuries as “very serious,” before doctors announced Tubasi’s death as a result of his injury, according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
The Hajjah Village Council announced the funeral of Tubasi’s body (Monday) after the noon prayer in the old village mosque.
Excluding East Jerusalem, about three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, in addition to more than 500,000 Israelis residing in illegal settlements under international law.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the evacuation of settlements in the occupied West Bank that Israeli law considers illegal, according to what Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Sunday.
Smotrich said, “As far as I know, Netanyahu issued instructions to evacuate” some settlements, indicating that he did not agree to this procedure.
Smotrich pointed out that the evacuation process concerns settlement outposts built in areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority and without an official license from the Israeli authorities.
Settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has witnessed an escalation in recent months, after its perpetrators remained largely immune from legal prosecution for years.
The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, called on Saturday for measures to be taken against acts of violence committed by settlers, adding that they were “the work of a small minority” of settlers.
Huckabee, known for his strong support for Israel and the settlers, said during his meeting with Palestinian Americans in the town of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah: “Our clear message is that crime is crime, and terrorism is terrorism.” “When people commit these acts, they should expect to face serious consequences.”
The West Bank has witnessed an escalation in violence since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip following the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
At least 1,107 Palestinians, including a number of gunmen, were killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on Palestinian Authority data.
On the other hand, official Israeli data show that at least 48 Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, were killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians or during confrontations with Israeli forces.
Israel expanded its raids and bombing in southern Lebanon in conjunction with its unveiling of a plan to withdraw from most of the occupied Lebanese territories, and be content with remaining at a distance of between two and four kilometers, within a line called the “gray line,” instead of the currently occupied “yellow line.”
On the ground, Israel violated the undeclared rules established by the ceasefire agreement last June. It resumed evacuation warnings in southern Lebanon, and launched air strikes targeting vital facilities in the city of Nabatieh, which led to the death of 4 people, which the Lebanese state denounced. Its President, Joseph Aoun, considered what happened a “dangerous escalation,” while Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri confirmed that Israel is turning the south into a “ballot box with blood.”
In Tel Aviv, military sources said, according to Kan 11, that following its announcement of “operational control and clearing of tunnels and underground infrastructure in Ali al-Tahir Hill in southern Lebanon,” the Israeli army is preparing to reduce its forces, redeploy them, and withdraw back, within a new “security belt” area close to the Israeli-Lebanese border.
